1) It will undoubtedly make a few people very rich when the presumed fall in wholesale price leads to more profit. The idea that consumers would significantly benefit from this is a pipe dream.
2) It MAY significantly reduce our reliance on foreign imports (temporarily)
3) It MAY help bridge the gap to a more sustainable future, and buy us time to develop better alternatives

Fracking: Cons

1) Potential to pollute groundwater with process chemicals and released hydrocarbons
2) Causes ground instability (tremors, etc)
3) Deflects attention away from the urgent need to invest in developing renewables
4) Ties the UK to unsustainable polluting fossil fuels further into the future increasing greenhouse gas emissions, compared with alternatives.
5) Further undermines attempts to encourage the rest of the world to clean up its act
6) Will cause widespread unrest in the population presumably leading to further draconian laws to protect the industry at the expense of the people, thereby adding to loss of democracy, ownership, and other rights of the individual
7) Will further alienate the government from its people due to more need for idiotic lies such as describing shale gas as “Green energy” (David Cameron, Prime Minister’s Questions, 15/01/14)
8) Blots on the landscape. Some people admire wind turbines, some don’t. Nobody can admire fracking rigs or huge traffic problems.
9) Bribing communities to accept fracking will still cost us, either through taxation or energy bills.
10) Devaluing property to practically worthless, in the vicinity of the fracking sites & increasing insurance premiums, if not making insurance impossible.
11) Threatening wildlife & agriculture. Forcing future generations to deal with well casing deterioration & the resulting environmental damage.
12) Radiation & carcinogens in vast quantities of water returned to the surface after fracking – just where are we going to dispose of them??